Irish prisoners given €500k in interest-free loans by prison service in last three years – with one woman using cash to buy DOG

The cash is repaid by deducting an amount from the lag’s pocket money each week.

By Darragh Mc Donagh

14th November 2017, 2:42 pm

Updated: 14th November 2017, 2:42 pm

INMATES have been given €500,000 in interest-free loans by the Irish Prison Service during the past three years, it can be revealed.

The loans were provided for a wide variety of purposes, including the purchase of discretionary items such as games consoles and stereos, as well as helping to cover the cost of Communions and Confirmations.

The next-biggest lender was Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, where prisoners borrowed a total of €88,003 over three years.

The Dochas Centre on the Mountjoy campus, where female offenders are detained, provided a total of €30,366 in loans to its inmates.

A short list of examples in respect of loans that were approved last year was provided by the IPS. These included a €300 “Christmas loan” for a prisoner in Mountjoy, €300 for an Xbox at Limerick Prison, €300 for a stereo at Midlands Prison, and €300 for a dog at the Dochas Centre.

The spokesperson said: "When a loan is given to a prisoner, a direct debit is set up to automatically debit the prisoner’s account each Sunday night with the amount.

"The repayment amount is determined by the value of the loan, the regime the prisoner is on, and the expected release date of the prisoner."